


25 Days of Danny Phantom Christmas 2013

by kimurasato



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-12
Updated: 2014-05-12
Packaged: 2018-01-24 10:28:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 18,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1601597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimurasato/pseuds/kimurasato
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of Christmas themed shorts. It contains various pairings and some non-pairing stories, check the summary on each chapter to see what characters are involved.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> Summary: Everyone is enjoying the Christmas holiday except for one ghost.  
> Characters: Box Ghost x Lunch Lady

He floated at the edge of the crowd, watching as everyone enjoyed the festivities. Christmas was usually a calm period of time in the Ghost Zone as the truce came into effect and plans for the party got underway. Even the half ghosts were welcomed warmly by the other ghosts to enjoy the annual merriment. The Box Ghost frowned as everyone around him feasted and drank. The noise of their celebration was quite loud, but those that didn't bother to attend weren't going to make any complaints against the noise. Ember brought her band to jam out some Christmas songs, and some other ghosts joined in, singing along to the familiar tunes. Everyone was having a good time.

Meanwhile, the Box Ghost was feeling like the Christmas Grinch, sulking in his little corner of the room. While it was a time when every ghost got along, putting fights aside, the Box Ghost never really felt welcomed among them. He still felt like an outcast, and every time someone laughed, he had that miserable sinking feeling that they were laughing at him. Laughing at what a failure of ghost he was. Laughing about how he couldn't even last a minute in a fight against a half ghost. Laughing at how pathetically not scary he was.

He doubted any of them had even really noticed that he gave up over the last year. He was tired of trying to be scary and get recognized as a spooky menace. He realized that he simply wasn't made for scaring. It just wasn't in him like it was with other ghosts. He overheard them all the time, talking about their various ventures into the real world and the chaos they caused when they scared some humans. He had no stories like that. He only had stories of his failures. Failures in life. Failures in death. With a sigh, he floated over to one of the tables to set down his glass before leaving. Maybe next year he would skip the whole Christmas Truce party. He doubted any of the ghosts would notice if he didn't turn up. He could fade away until the name the Box Ghost was no longer remembered in anyone's mind.

"Oh, sorry!" said the ghost that he accidentally bumped into when he turned to leave the party. The Box Ghost remembered her from past parties. She still dressed in her pink lunch lady outfit with the white apron hanging over it. But her usual hairnet was replaced with a Santa hat. She held a large silver platter in her hands with the Christmas turkey fresh out of the oven and smelling wonderfully delicious.

The Box Ghost shook his head and floated out of the way so that she could place the turkey down on the table. It was a much larger turkey than last year, probably because they were having more and more ghosts turn up at the party. "My fault," he mumbled with his gaze cast downward. "I shouldn't have gotten in the way." He resisted the urge to smack himself in the face. That was the story of his life: always in the way."

"It's fine. Now," the Lunch Lady grinned as she slapped a hand on his shoulder, "I hope you have a healthy appetite because I might have misjudged and cooked too much." She sighed. "I'm gonna have a lot of leftovers to pack up."

The Box Ghost shrugged. "Well, if you need help packing them up," he mumbled, holding his hands out before him as a small box made out of bluish white energy formed between them.

"That's sweet of you!" The Lunch Lady leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek that turned a darker shade of blue as a strange feeling twisted about inside him.

"That's not how you do it!"

They both turned their heads to see Kitty standing near them. Kitty had changed her outfit for something more fitting for Christmas. She still wore a short red skirt, but now it was part of a strapless dress with fluffy white trim around the top and bottom. Her neon green hair was pulled back into a ponytail and tied off with a red ribbon.

"You're standing under the mistletoe!" Kitty explained at their confused looks. "You have to give him a real kiss. On the lips. It's tradition."

The Box Ghost glanced toward the Lunch Lady. "You don't have-" But the Lunch Lady cut him off by sealing their mouths together in a kiss that made the Box Ghost happy he hadn't skipped out on the party earlier. His cheeks flushed darker when he heard a few whistles and catcalls from the guests at the party that had stopped to watch the kiss. Maybe things weren't as bad as he thought.


	2. Hot Chocolate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: She studied alone in the library until a mysterious man turned up.  
> Characters: Ghost Writer x Jazz

Frustration curled around her like a tightening noose as she furiously backspaced through an entire paragraph on her laptop. The Christmas break was just around the corner, and her teacher decided to assign a huge paper that was due on the very last day before the break began. Academics might be her thing, but even she was prone to moments of increasing frustration when things weren't going as well as she hoped. She knew her brother always looked at her as some sort of know-it-all brainiac who never needed to study to get perfect straight A's, but that was all an illusion. She worked hard to achieve her good grades. She studied day and night, reviewed every possible detail that might be included on tests and exams.

Jazz paused as she stared at the blinking cursor on the much too bright page of the Word document that she had open to write her assignment. Books were spread out and open all around her on the table. Maybe that was why she had no friends, even now that she was in college. She was too busy filling her mind with facts and figures as she strove to achieve her goal of becoming a brilliant psychologist. She sighed, rubbing at her forehead with one hand. Was it all worth it in the end? Was being obsessed with her education and eventually her job worth it if she was alone with no friends? She would have her parents and her brother, but at this rate, she would never have her own family because she couldn't connect with anyone. Danny made having friends look easy. He could relate to almost everyone and have them like him. He was even making friends with some of the ghosts that used to attack him. She was jealous of that. When she tried to relate to people, she was awkward and weird, and the other students at the college would give her weird looks before walking away from her.

She jumped when something appeared within her lowered line of sight. After blinking at the steaming mug with a swirl of whipped cream held out before her, she lifted her gaze to the one holding it. He stared at her with his eyebrows lifted with an expectant look in his green eyes behind rounded glasses. His hair was short and dark with a matching beard upon his chin. The coat he wore reached down to his ankles, and a scarf wrapped around his neck. He looked vaguely familiar, though Jazz had trouble placing him.

"You're not supposed to have food and drink in the library," Jazz told him then bit her tongue as she mentally cursed herself. It was probably also things like that, that made people not like her. Not only was she a know-it-all, but she was a stickler for the rules and probably thought of as a tattletale.

"It'll be our little secret," the man said with a slightly curling of his mouth as he set the mug down beside her. Then he took a seat next to her at the table in the back of the library. "It looked like you could use something to drink. Perhaps a break from an all night study session?"

Jazz started to argue but changed her mind and offered him a pleasant smile. She picked up the mug and took a small sip. The hot chocolate held a hint of mint to it, and she smiled happily as the warmth filled her. "Maybe you're right," she admitted with a light blush as she set the mug back down on the table. "Perhaps I did need a little break." When the man chuckled a little, trying to hide it behind a hand, Jazz flushed a little darker. "What?"

He leaned over, reaching out a hand. With his thumb, he wiped it over her upper lip, making her blush even more. "You had a bit of whipped cream on your lip," he explained then scraped the blob of white off his thumb with his teeth. "Mm, tasty," he murmured with a twist of a grin, and Jazz had to look away, reaching up to brush some of her auburn hair behind an ear. This was flirting, wasn't it? But they had just met. She didn't even know his name.

"Th-Thanks," Jazz said, feeling flustered. "For the drink. And um-" She waved at her mouth, embarrassed about getting whipped cream on her lip.

"Well, I just wanted an excuse to come over here and meet you." The man smiled at her, and Jazz swore her heart skipped a beat. "William Gore." He held out his hand to her.

"Jasmine Fenton." She shook his hand, which was colder than she would have expected. "But most people just call me Jazz."


	3. Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: The first flakes of winter begin to fall as they head back to their apartment building with some takeout.  
> Characters: Dan x Kwan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sequel story to Opportunity Knocks (chapter 36 of Ghost Stories).

"You really saved me back then," Kwan said as he walked alongside the other man. He bumped into Dan when he was about to pick up some Chinese for his dinner, feeling much too tired to cook his own dinner that night, and he offered to share some with Dan. A small way of repaying his debt to Dan for helping him babysit his nephew.

Dan shrugged, lifting his broad shoulders, and Kwan frowned slightly to see that he was wearing a plain leather jacket that didn't look very warm. "I didn't really end up doing much." His dark blue eyes drifted toward the man at his side. "You seem like a natural taking care of children."

Kwan shook his head, but he could feel a light flush warming his cheeks despite the cold wrapping around them. "It was a lot easier once Drew fell asleep. He was actually pretty cute then." He smiled fondly, remembering holding his nephew in his arms after Drew finally drifted off to sleep. "You know, when he's not being an angry little monster that cries all the time."

Dan chuckled. "It probably helped that you finally started to relax around him. Babies can sense that, you know."

Kwan eyed the man with a certain amount of suspicion. Then he caught the slight smirk curling upon Dan's face. "Liar," he said, giving the man a shove, but he smiled. It was nice having someone to talk to again. Dash was off in another state after leaving Amity Park to go to college. The same was true of Paulina. He still spoke with them both from time to time, but it wasn't quite the same. They didn't get to hang out like they used to in high school, and he missed that. He missed the late nights over at Dash's house as they played video games or watched movies. Now his time was mostly filled with school and work.

"You don't know. That could be true." Dan still wore that teasing smirk. "I think I read it somewhere once."

"Right. Uh huh. Sure." Kwan rolled his aqua green eyes. "But I really owe you my thanks. You could have just left me sitting behind that dumpster, hiding from my silly worries about taking care of a child, but instead you offered me a hand of help." He laughed to himself, shaking his head as his cheeks turned a soft shade of pink. "Okay. This is stupid, but you're kind of my hero for that. So, um, thanks." When he glanced over, he saw the man was scratching at the back of his head with a blush of his own on his face.

"I'm no one's hero," Dan mumbled, and there was something in his voice that Kwan couldn't identify, and his brow furrowed curiously as he stared at the man.

Reaching over, Kwan slapped a hand onto Dan's shoulder and grinned at him. "Hey, being a hero doesn't mean you have to go off running into burning buildings or taking bullets to protect people. Sometimes, just being there and helping out no matter how little it seems can make you seem like a hero to someone. And for me, you are a hero."

With a laugh, Dan shook his head. "You're strange."

Kwan puffed out his cheeks with a small pout. When he turned his head sharply away, his eyes grew a fraction wider in surprise as a flake of white drifted past him. "Hey!" He grabbed hold of Dan's hand, grinning madly. "The first snowflakes of the year." He knew he was getting childishly excited about that, but winter was his favorite season. He loved seeing the town blanketed in white, especially before people started going out and trampling through the fresh snowfall.

"So?" Dan asked, staring blandly as more flakes began to fall.

Kwan frowned at the lack of interest from the other man. "What? Are you going to tell me you don't like Christmas?"

"What's to like?" Dan shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, looking rather grumpy about the whole thing. "People act all fake with their so-called holiday cheer, but it's really just a miserable time."

"Don't you have family to spend it with?"

Dan lifted one shoulder. "I suppose I could, but it kind of feels like intruding at a time like Christmas. It's better if I just spend it alone."

Kwan stared sadly at the other man, not liking his response. "Why not spend it with me then?" He shifted awkwardly when Dan glanced curiously at him. "I couldn't get off work on Christmas, and my sister has this whole Drew's first Christmas thing planned, and I didn't want to ruin that by making my family hold off Christmas for me. So," he shrugged, "I'll be alone too. I mean, I won't be free during the day, but in the evening, we could have our own little Christmas." A grin came over him as he nudged an elbow into Dan's side. "Anything you want for Christmas?"

Dan tilted his head in thought. "Well, I did always want a puppy."

"I'm not sure our apartment building will allow that." Kwan's grin faded into a frown.

Dan laughed and reached over to ruffle Kwan's hair, which was slowly gathering flakes of snow in it. "I was only joking. I don't expect you to get me anything. Now let's get back to the apartment before that food gets cold." He started walking again toward their apartment building, which was only another block away.

Kwan followed after him, already debating options for what to get Dan for Christmas.


	4. Candy Canes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Danielle tries to cheer Danny up.  
> Characters: Danny and Danielle

Danny frowned, leaning his head in his hand as he sat on the doorstep in front of his house. Which was still freezing after he cleared away the snow hours ago as part of his chores, and he could feel the cold seeping through the heavy fabric of his jeans. His parents wanted to take the weekend to decorate the house for Christmas, and he wasn't allowed to go back inside, where it was nice and warm, until they were finished. Or at least, finished for that day. Currently, his parents had forgotten about putting up the decorations and fell right back into their old debate of whether or not Santa was real. After seventeen years of listening to them, the argument was a bit old in Danny's mind.

Something red and white suddenly waved in front of his face. Danny lifted his gaze to see Danielle grinning madly at him with a mischievous gleam in her blue eyes as she held out a candy cane to him. He wasn't really in the festive mood, but he took the candy cane from her anyway as she sat down beside him with a candy cane of her own.

"What's with you, grumpy?" She pried the wrapper from her candy cane and stuck the long end into mouth, sucking happily on the sweet treat.

"You're my clone." Danny twisted the candy cane in his hand but didn't bother opening it. "You should know all about why I don't care for this time of year." After all, they shared so many other traits because she was his clone. She had similar taste in music and enjoyed the same kind of food that he did. She even shared his interest in space and comic books, and liked the same movies too. Surely, she knew all about his hate for Christmas.

Danielle rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Well, I'm glad I didn't inherit your grumpy personality. Come on, Danny! This is Christmas time! You should get out and have some fun."

Danny glanced at where his parents were arguing by the giant snowman that they were setting up. "How am I supposed to have fun when my parents spend the whole time arguing? And I end up getting peed on by a dog when I'm a baby."

"Danny, you're seventeen now. Get your chores done, and let's go have a little holiday fun of our own." Danielle grinned as she gave him a nudge with her elbow. "We could go throw a few snowballs at Dash."

Danny grinned despite his sour mood over the Christmas holiday. Getting a little revenge on Dash didn't sound like too bad an idea. And what better way than to throw a few snowballs while invisible at the jock? "Okay, okay," Danny said as he stood. "Help me get these lights up, and we can get out of here." Then again, with the way his parents were arguing with each other, they probably wouldn't notice if he and Danielle slipped off for the rest of the day, but Danny decided they could at least get the lights up before departing.


	5. Christmas Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Secrets come out as they decorate the tree for Christmas.  
> Characters: Vlad and Danny

Danny sifted through the box of decorations then glanced subtly toward the sourpuss of a man adding ornaments to the giant Christmas tree set up in the large room off to the side of the main entrance. The man seemed to have a constant cloud of gloom over him, and it was driving Danny crazy. With a sigh, he turned back to his box. Christmas wasn't even his favorite time of year. He dug through the box and came out with a small, ancient looking ornament. It was oval shaped, and the silver needed some polishing to make it regain its original shine. There was a latch on one side, and Danny pried the ornament open. It was like a locket, each side containing a picture. Old, faded, and in black and white. The right side was a picture of Vlad, who didn't look much different from how he looked today.

The left side contained a picture of a woman that Danny had never seen. There were no other pictures of her in the castle. Her hair was long, loose curls spilling over her shoulder, but he couldn't identify what color it might have been based on the picture. It was light though, so he assumed it wasn't black or a dark brown. She was quite lovely and seemed to have a certain elegance about her. Danny glanced back toward Vlad and frowned, debating if he should say anything.

"Who is this?" he asked, caving in to his curiosity as he held the ornament out for the man to see.

Vlad paused after hanging up a silvery blue bauble on the tree. Walking over, he joined Danny on the floor as he carefully plucked the ornament from the young man's hand. "I forgot this was even in there," he murmured as he stared fondly at the picture of the woman. "This is my dear Elle's mother." He glanced toward the young man, and Danny could see the pain and sorrow in his red eyes that made him regret asking about the picture. "She had this made for the first Christmas we spent together."

"What happened to her?" The question left his mouth before he even thought about it. "Sorry," Danny mumbled, dropping his gaze. "You don't have to answer that."

Vlad shook his head. "It's been a hundred years, after all." He closed up the ornament, holding it tightly in his curled hand as he turned his gaze upon Danny. "We were living in a castle in Europe, and Elle was nearly one year old when the villagers came for us. I tried to get them both out safely, but Madeline was caught by them. I couldn't get to her in time, and there were too many of them for her to escape. It happened too quickly. One of those barbaric _humans_ ," he spat out the term with venom in his voice, "brought an axe and chopped off her head right there in front of me. I wanted to grieve for her then, but I still had Elle to look after, and Madeline would never forgive me if I didn't keep our daughter safe, so I fled. I fled until I found a safe place for us to live away from the destruction of humans."

"I'm sorry." Danny bowed his head with a horrible twisting in his chest. "I shouldn't have asked. I didn't mean for you to remember something like that."

Vlad stood and walked over to the tree, placing the ornament onto one of the branches. "I've had a hundred years to grieve for her." His hand lingered for a moment, holding the locket ornament in the palm of his hand. Then he turned and glanced at Danny with an appraising look in his eyes. "But you've showed me that not all humans are that cruel. At least, not anymore."

Danny stared at him for a moment then lowered his gaze to his hands, picking absently at the dead skin around his thumbnail. Dead. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore that wrenching feeling in his chest. "I haven't been completely honest with you."

"What do you mean?"

Danny opened his eyes and lifted his head to meet Vlad's gaze. "You trusted me with your secrets." He stood up, taking a deep breath as he steeled himself for he was about to tell the man. "You told me about your wife and you showed me that you're a vampire even when you didn't have to. I'm-" Danny reached up and raked a hand through his raven hair, delaying just a bit longer. "I'm half ghost."

Vlad stared at him, his brow creasing as if he was trying to catch the man lying. "Daniel, there's no such thing as half ghosts."

"And many people would claim that vampires and werewolves aren't real!" Danny shouted back in a moment of anger. "You don't believe me. Then I'll show you." Twin rings of light passed over his body. Then he turned intangible before he walked forward and through the vampire. He had ditched the jumpsuit that he originally wore upon entering his parents' invention that nearly killed him long ago, though he still kept to the black and white scheme, with a touch of gray thrown into the mix. "And for the record," he folded his arms as he stared at Vlad, "I may look like I'm just twenty-five, but I'm over forty now."

Vlad's red eyes were wide as he gaped in utter shock. "How is that even possible?"

Danny shrugged. "I don't know. I nearly died in one of my parents' inventions, and the next thing I know, I have ghost powers."

"And you don't age?"

"Not since I turned twenty-five." Danny frowned, shifting awkwardly. "I kind of freaked out when I realized it. That's sort of why I've been roaming around traveling the world. I can't really stay anywhere for very long without risking people noticing that I'm not aging. I still keep in touch with my friends. But they've grown older and they have their families." He hugged his arms around his body, turning his miserable gaze away. "That's something I can't have. I can blend in with humans. But who's going to marry someone who doesn't age? And that's assuming that I can trust them enough with this secret." He didn't even realize that the vampire had moved until he was suddenly enveloped in his arms. Closing his eyes, Danny leaned against him, feeling some of his worries fading away.

"My home will always be open to you," Vlad murmured quietly.


	6. Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: After a long day of work, Sam looks forward to some relaxation.  
> Characters: Danny x Sam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little pre-Doctor Dash story.

Sam sighed tiredly as she entered the house after what felt like an endless day at work. She was beginning to feel a little like Danny when he was back in high school and hated the whole Christmas holiday. She still liked all the merriment of the season, even though she was Jewish, and they tried to celebrate both religion's holidays. But it seemed like the opposing law firms believed that no one would actually get any work done on cases during the Christmas break and always planned to need things prepared by the first day back from their holidays. Ha! They didn't know Samantha Fenton very well. She would have all her case files ready to go, and she would still have plenty of time to enjoy the holidays, just to prove them wrong.

"I look ridiculous!"

Sam frowned at the cry from her nine year old son. After setting down her briefcase in the front hall and hanging up her long coat, she wandered toward the front room and leaned against the doorframe as she folded her arms. Her son stood pouting in the center of the room dressed in a white gown with a golden halo hanging over his head.

"You look fine, Lex," Danny told their son as he adjusted the wings on the back of the boy's costume.

Blue eyes flicked her way. "Mom, tell Dad I look ridiculous!" Lex frowned, clearly not enjoying the whole angel costume that he was being forced to wear.

Sam bit back a snicker. "I thought you were the one that wanted to be in the Christmas pageant."

"That was before I knew about this stupid costume." Lex pouted as he folded his arms.

"Hey!" Danny frowned. "I spent four hours making these wings."

"Most people would have just cut out the shape of wings from paper," Sam said, lifting an eyebrow as she admired the handiwork of her husband.

"That's kind of lame," Danny complained. "If he's going to play an angel, his wings should at least look more realistic than just silly paper cut out in the shape of them."

"How are the rehearsals going?" Sam walked into the room. "And I do promise to make it to your performance." She placed a kiss on Lex's forehead, and her son groaned, wiping at the spot with the sleeve of his gown.

"They're going fine," Lex mumbled. "But Henry keeps forgetting his line. How hard is it to remember 'There's no room at the inn?' He's a pretty poor innkeeper."

"Maybe he just gets stage fright," Sam said, staring down at her son with an unhappy look in her violet eyes. "I hope you're not teasing him about it. That will only make him feel worse about not remembering his line."

"I'm not!" Lex said immediately with such an earnest look that Sam couldn't doubt him.

"Ember's been helping him out quite a bit," Danny said as he pinned the hem of the gown, which was much too long on their son currently. If he wore it like that in the performance, he might end up tripping over it.

"Really?" Sam eyed her husband with some suspicion in her gaze. "Are we sure we can trust her?"

"I've been supervising the whole thing. No hypnotic powers, I promise." Danny lifted his head and grinned at her. "Just your average vocal coaching and advice about performing in front of an audience."

"Why do angels have to dress up like this?" Lex folded his arms, impatiently waiting on his father to finish. "Can't we have cooler looking angels?"

"This is how they traditionally look." Danny ruffled his son's blond hair. "What do you expect them to wear? Hoodies and jeans?"

"That angel on TV wears a trench coat," Lex argued.

"You've been letting him watch that TV show about angels and demons?" Sam folded her arms as she glared at her husband. "Is that why he has nightmares sometimes?"

"No, of course not." Danny laughed nervously. "He probably just caught one of the commercials once." He finished pinning the hem and patted his son on the shoulder. "Okay. You can go change." Once Lex was out of the room, Danny stood and winced when Sam kept glaring at him. "Okay. He caught one episode. But I didn't think it would give him nightmares. I mean, we deal with ghosts all the time."

Sam punched his shoulder. "Lex is still just a little kid. He's not scared of ghosts because he's been friends with plenty of them since birth. You didn't think demons might scare him?"

"Okay. I admit to making a mistake. But it was only that one time, and I sat him down and told him that it was all make believe, demons aren't real, and he has nothing to be scared about." Danny carefully placed his hands on his wife's shoulder and directed her toward the kitchen. "Now how about I make you some nice hot coffee and you can have some of the cookies I baked this afternoon?"

Sam sighed, allowing some of the tension to leave her body. Relaxing for a bit actually sounded rather nice after her long day at work.


	7. Pie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Sam pays a visit to Tucker's house for their annual Christmas present exchange.  
> Characters: Tucker x Sam

She rang the doorbell, biting her lip as she waited upon the doorstep. In her hands, she held the present that she so carefully wrapped the previous night in preparation for coming over to her friend's house today. She had already stopped by Fenton Works to give Danny his present. Apparently, he had a late night dealing with ghosts and was still half asleep as they exchanged gifts. She loved the little bat earrings that Danny bought her, and she could already imagine the looks on her parents' faces when they saw the earrings. Her mother especially hated bats, referring to them as rabid rats with wings.

Sam smiled widely when the door cracked open and Tucker appeared. But it faltered when she noticed the smears marking up her friend's face. "What have you been doing?" Her brow wrinkled at the white powder dotting her friend and creamy substance staining his shirt.

"Uh, n-nothing," Tucker said, glancing away with a guilty look.

Sam frowned with suspicion at her friend, but she decided to ignore his obvious lie for the moment. "Did you forget about exchanging Christmas presents today?"

"No, no! I remembered!" Tucker winced as a beeping sounded from within the house. "I was just, uh, working on something."

"Tucker," Sam sniffed at the air, "is something burning?" She pushed past her friend before he could stop her and entered the house. Tucker followed after her as she headed for the kitchen from where the burning smell came. The kitchen was a total mess, looking like a tornado struck it with the way flour coated seemingly every surface. "What have you been doing in here?" She grabbed the pot holders from the drawer then yanked open the door of the oven. They both coughed as smoke billowed out of it.

"I was just," Tucker waved his hand before him, trying to clear some of the smoke, "trying to make something for you."

"What exactly?" Sam pulled something out of the oven and set it down on the stovetop. "A burnt disc?" She couldn't even really tell when it was meant to be other than smoldering black brick in a tin pie holder.

"Um, well," Tucker mumbled as he rubbed at the back of his neck. "I was trying to make an utlra-recyclo vegetarian friendly pumpkin pie. But, well, as you can see, it didn't exactly turn out right."

Sam patted Tucker on shoulder. "Maybe you should stick to technology." She glanced at the burnt pie and had to laugh at it. "And please no more pie baking."

Tucker eyed the pie with a light flush on his cheeks. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Sam stared at him then smirked as she reached over and wiped her finger down his nose. Covered in creamy filling, she stuck her finger in her mouth. "Mm," she grinned, "at least the filling would have tasted good."

Tucker's cheeks turned even darker as he fumbled about, trying ineffectively to clean up some of the mess on the counter. "Oh, w-well, that's good at least."

Sam placed her hand on his cheek and forced him to turn his head back to her. Then she caught his mouth in a short kiss, tasting the flour upon his lips. "I guess that can count as my Christmas present." She grinned as Tucker sputtered out in his shock over the kiss. She wondered how different his reaction would be when he opened her present and discovered the latest cell phone model that technically wouldn't be on the market until next month.


	8. Tinsel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Sometimes it just takes the right person to drive the problems from her mind.  
> Characters: Danny x Kitty

She sipped at the ectoplasm in the red plastic cup as she glanced around the room. Despite her efforts not to, her gaze seemed to always find that obnoxious blond biker. Currently, Johnny was practically draping himself over Desiree and flirting as obviously as being slugged in the head with a hammer. Kitty scoffed, narrowing her eyes at him before turning away from the sight of him. If she was lucky, Desiree would hear her silent wish and smack the biker ghost. Johnny was an idiot if he thought that Desiree would ever actually date him. Kitty knew the other female ghosts had her back and would stay away from dating Johnny.

"What's the matter?" Danny popped up in front of her with a cheery grin on his face. A few years ago, this time of year would have put the half ghost in a sour mood, but now he enjoyed joining the other ghosts at the Christmas Truce party.

The corner of her mouth twisted upward when Kitty saw him. "You've got stuff in your hair." She reached up, threading her fingers through his white hair and tugging free a few tiny silvery strips of tinsel that made his hair sparkle like freshly fallen snow under the moonlight.

Danny blinked at the tinsel in her hand and flushed lightly. "Oh." He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it to rid his hair of any more tinsel. "I guess I got some in my hair when I was hanging out around the tree." His mouth pulled downward as a worried look entered his green eyes. "But are you okay? You looked kind of mad a moment ago."

Kitty sighed and shook her head. "Just-" she glanced back toward where Johnny was, alone now after Desiree finally got annoyed with him.

Danny followed her gaze. "Ah. We didn't have to come," he pointed out, pulling her in an comforting embrace. "We could have had our own little Christmas celebration instead."

"What? And let Johnny think I'm afraid to face him after our breakup?" Kitty snorted, but it made her feel better to have Danny consider her feelings like that. "I'm the one that broke up with him. He should feel lucky that I didn't use my powers and leave him to spend all eternity in that - well, wherever my power sends men. I never really figured out where men went when I use it."

Danny chuckled with perhaps a little nervousness. "I hope I never have reason to find out."

Kitty smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Just keep being the amazing boyfriend that you have been, and I don't think you'll ever have to worry about going there."

"That doesn't sound like it'll be too hard." Danny smiled before pressing his lips to her forehead in a brief kiss. "But we have made our appearance at the party, so if you feel like leaving, we can go."

Kitty considered, tossing a glance at Johnny, who made the mistake of approaching Dora. The Fright Knight wasn't allowed to use his Soul Shredder during the Christmas Truce party, but his presence, hand on his sword hilt, was enough to force Johnny to make a quick retreat. "Perhaps a little longer is okay," she said, smiling at Danny.


	9. Ice Skating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Danielle wanted to do something different than what they usually did when hanging out.  
> Characters: Valerie x Danielle

"I can't believe you've never been ice skating!"

"Why is that so unbelievable?" Valerie shot an annoyed look at the half ghost floating before her as she laced up her ice skates.

"I don't know." Danielle shrugged her shoulders with an impish grin on her face. "I guess because not only are you older than I am but you've existed for a lot longer than I have."

Valerie finished tying her skates then looked back up at the other woman. For a while, she had known that she liked Danielle as something more than just a good friend, and they both wondered if their attraction had anything to with the fact that Danielle was Danny's clone. But there was something else that had stopped her from starting a relationship. Danielle was a clone, and while Valerie was okay with that, Danielle only came into existence four years ago. It felt wrong, in a way, to start something romantic with someone that was technically four. But physically and mentally, Danielle was sixteen. In the end, Valerie decided her best option was to simply bring up her concerns with Danielle herself. They sat down and talked about it for a while before concluding that in a physical and mental capacity, Danielle was fully capable of having a romantic relationship with someone that she liked.

"I guess I was always more interested in kicking butt rather than falling on mine." Valerie stood then tentatively stepped onto the ice covered pond, feeling uncomfortably unsteady on the skates.

"Well, it's only me out here." Danielle grinned as she floated out before Valerie on the pond. "I promise not to laugh if you fall."

After a wobbly moment, Valerie placed her hands on her hips as she frowned. "If I don't get to use my suit, you don't get to use ghost powers."

Danielle pouted as she touched down on the ice, wearing her own pair of ice skates. "Aw, but falling hurts!"

Valerie pushed forward, gliding toward the other woman, but what she hoped would be a smooth trip turned into a wobbling mess as she flailed her arms and eventually dropped to the ice hard enough to make her wince. "Yeah," she agreed, feeling like she just bruised her tail bone, "falling really hurts."

Danielle bit her lip, but that wasn't enough to keep the laughter from bubbling out of her. "Sorry! I'm sorry! I know I promised, but that was pretty funny." She glided over, with a lot more skill, to Valerie and held out her hand to help the other woman back to her feet. "Don't worry. It gets a lot easier with practice."

"And who exactly taught you how to skate?" Valerie lifted a curious eyebrow at Danielle as she got back on her feet, as unstable as she was on them while wearing ice skates.

"Danny took me out once," Danielle explained, keeping hold of Valerie's hands. "You know, after he stopped being such a Grinch about Christmas." She moved backward slowly, her feet shifting side to side as she helped Valerie skate forward. "It was a lot of fun, even though I spent a lot of the time falling. I thought," she shrugged, "this would be a fun activity for us to do. You know, instead of running around hunting ghosts all the time."

"We do more than that," Valerie argued, though she saw Danielle's point. Most of their time spent together either involved ghost hunting, or at least patrolling for ghosts, or studying. After some chatting with Danny and his parents and her father and Mr. Lancer, Danielle started as a freshmen at Casper High two years ago. Valerie enjoyed helping out the young half ghost with her homework whenever it was needed.

"Yeah, sometimes. Going to the movies. Hanging out at the Nasty Burger." Danielle rolled her eyes, but she grinned. "But we usually end up hanging out with Danny and his friends when we do that. I wanted something that we could do, alone, without them being around."

Valerie grinned, tugging on Danielle's hands so that the other woman slid forward into her. "Good idea." She hugged her arms around Danielle's waist as she leaned in for a kiss that the half ghost was happy to return.


	10. Frost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Jack hates to see Vlad looking down and always tries to find a way to cheer him up.  
> Characters: Jack, Vlad, and Maddie

Jack frowned at the frosty response he got out of his friend when he greeted him as they crossed paths on campus. He was heading toward his physics class, and if he knew Vlad's schedule, which of course he did - they were best buds and roommates after all! - his friend would be off to his calculus class. Okay. Maybe that could explain the coldness in which he spoke. Who wouldn't be grumpy about having to go to boring old calculus? It was a total yawn fest.

"Hey," Jack said, putting on a cheery grin as he hugged an arm around Vlad's shoulders, walking beside the man and ignoring his own need to get to class. It was the day before the Christmas break, and most of his professors were either just assigning work to do over the break or letting them all goof off, not bothering to teach much of anything today. "What's the problem, buddy? You can tell me anything that's got you down."

They had been good friends - the best of friends! - ever since they first dormed with each other freshmen year. After that, they got an apartment together for their following years at the University of Wisconsin. They shared pretty much everything, so when Vlad wouldn't talk to him about something, it really hurt him. He hated seeing his friend looking so down and glum and not knowing what to do to fix it.

Vlad shook his head. "It's nothing. Forget about it. You should get to class."

"I can be a bit late. If it means helping out my dear old buddy!" Jack's grin widened, but it did little to cheer up his friend. With a sigh, he drew his arm away from Vlad. "It's about Maddie, isn't it?"

"What?" Vlad sputtered, gawking at him in shock. Yup, Jack knew that would be the case.

"What's the problem?' Jack tilted his head, hoping he could prod out the root of the problem. "Can't figure out what to get her?"

"Well," Vlad frowned, glancing away as he rubbed at the elbow of one arm, "there is that."

"Hey! You know what would be a great idea!" Excitement filled Jack's voice and danced in his eyes. "We should invite her to stay with us during the Christmas break! It'll be great!"

Vlad's brow wrinkled as he frowned at Jack. "I don't know that that's a good idea. I mean, our apartment is kind of a mess, and there's still that whole funky smell that we don't know where it's coming from. I'm still betting there's a dead rodent in the walls."

"So we clean up a bit. A little cleaning never killed anyone."

Vlad lifted an eyebrow at him and snorted. "Jack, when was the last time you ever cleaned _anything_?" Then his mouth pulled downward. "You expect me to do all the cleaning, don't you?"

Jack laughed nervously as he looked away. "No, of course not! Ha, ha." When he turned back to Vlad, he gave him a light pat on the shoulder. "Come on, man. Maddie loves you just as much as I do. I'm sure she won't mind a bit of a mess." Vlad, however, didn't look very convinced.

"Oh, hey, there you two are!" Maddie jogged down the path to them. Her cheeks were a rosy red, and her frizzy hair was tucked mostly under the knitted cap she wore.

"What's up, Mads?" Jack asked when she reached them.

"I was planning on going home for the Christmas break," Maddie explained. "But, ugh! My sister invited her boyfriend, and I can't stand that jerk! I really don't know what she sees in him. If they ever got married, I doubt it would last." She glanced between them, hope entering her violet eyes. "All my friends seem to be going home for the holidays, and I don't want to stay alone in my apartment."

"But you have a ninth degree black belt," Vlad blurted out, and Jack nudged him in the ribs with an elbow.

"Which I plan to use to kick some serious ghost butt," Maddie agreed firmly. "But," she frowned, "it's a lot more creepy being alone in an apartment if someone tried to break in. So are you two staying here this break?"

After Jack gave him a nudge, pushing him forward a step, Vlad fumbled but eventually said, "Oh, yeah! Of course we are. If you like, you can stay with us. Though I have to say, our apartment isn't that neat."

"Oh, thank you!" Maddie wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm sure it'll be fine. I'll see you two later tonight." She skipped over to Jack and gave him a hug and a kiss too. After a quick goodbye, she hurried off to her next class.

"Did," Vlad glanced Jack's way with his cheeks looking a touch redder than before, "you know that was going to happen?"

"I might have," Jack admitted, grinning. "Though I'm pretty sure she was just using not wanting to be alone in her apartment as an excuse to spend Christmas with us. Oh, and if you're still stuck on a gift idea, I saw a pair of ghost earrings at a store downtown. I can show them to you over the weekend." He gave Vlad another pat on the shoulder before he turned to head off to his physics class. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he started whistling that song about Jack Frost nipping at his nose.


	11. Eggnog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Valerie introduces Phantom to a holiday treat, or at least one of her holiday traditions.  
> Characters: Phantom x Valerie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A sequel story to Grim Reaper (Death) (All Ships Month 2013, day 22).

"So you've really never tried eggnog before?" Valerie lifted her eyebrows in surprise at the man sitting across from her at the small table in what she considered her living room. It was more of a coffee table, and they had to sit on the floor as they enjoyed their meal.

"Is that really all that surprising?" Phantom was lost staring down into the cup before him. It was filled with a creamy looking whitish, but sort of yellowish too, liquid that he was currently regretting asking about when Valerie was pouring some eggnog for herself.

"Well, I just mean, you _are_ nearly a hundred years old," Valerie said, pushing around some of the strips of chicken on top of her salad.

When Phantom told her the truth about what he was, Valerie was, needless to say, shocked. She was pretty sure she fainted and was unconscious for several minutes because when she woke up later, she was laying on her bed and Phantom was sitting, leaning against the wall as he waited patiently for her to come around again. That reaction was kind of embarrassing. But how else was she going to respond when he told her that he was a grim reaper? Anyone would be shocked by that news.

But that wasn't all he had to tell her that day. She was a little freaked out by him when he explained that the reason he initially met her was because he was assigned to reap her soul. The reason he hadn't been able to accomplish his task, though, was because he fell in love with her. Sometimes when she sat down and thought about it, the whole thing was still a little weird and unbelievable. A grim reaper had fallen in love with her? But when she glanced across the table to see Phantom, reality set in as she stared at the ivory hair and glowing green eyes. He had this sort of ethereal aura about him that gave him this unnatural appearance. He was most definitely not human.

"You've probably been all over the world," Valerie continued as she stabbed her fork into a strip of chicken. "I just figured that after seeing and experiencing all sorts of cultures, eggnog would probably be something that you came across at one point or another."

Phantom shrugged. "Well, I never really needed to eat or drink. I usually just pretend to while interacting with the humans that I'm supposed to be observing and determining if their soul is ready for reaping. Though I do admit, pizza is quite tasty. Thank you for introducing it to me."

"Not a problem. Next time, I'll get you a burrito," Valerie said with a grin. "Or maybe a chimichanga." Her eyes dropped to the glass that Phantom still hadn't touched. "I can toss it if you don't want to try it."

"No, no!" Phantom shook his head. "I'll try it." He lifted the glass then took a large gulp from it. After he swallowed, his face twisted up, his green eyes squinting shut. "People actually like this stuff?"

Valerie laughed at his reaction. "Most put a bit of alcohol in it. I can't say I very much like the taste but," she took a sip from her own glass, "it's a holiday tradition, so I always end up getting a carton of it. Reminds me of home, you know." She smiled fondly as she set the glass down again, staring at the eggnog within it. When she caught Phantom smiling at her, she shifted awkwardly, a flush of warmth rising to her cheeks. "What?"

"It's just your soul always shimmers whenever you think back on your parents. I like it."

"Oh." Valerie bowed her head, feeling oddly shy after that answer. "What does it look like when I'm think of you?" She couldn't help her curiosity.

"Like warmth and light. Happiness." Phantom took her hand and brought it up so that he could brush his lips over her knuckles. "It makes me happy that I was allowed to meet you."

Warmth fluttered through her, and she reacted impulsively. Valerie leaned over the table and kissed Phantom. "I'm glad you were allowed to meet me too," she mumbled against his lips.


	12. Cider

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Danny waited all night for him to show up.  
> Characters: Clockwork x Danny

Danny sighed as he sat on the rail of the balcony off the feasting hall where the rest of the ghosts were partying with Christmas carols being song loudly, and not always all that on key. He winced whenever the Box Ghost's voice cracked in the middle of singing. Wulf kept singing in Esperanto, which no one understood, but the tune was usually pretty easy to figure out. Unfortunately, the one ghost that he was actually looking forward to seeing at the Truce party apparently didn't want to make an appearance. He spent the whole night mingling as he kept an eye out for the other ghost, but now he was just tired and felt like giving up and going home.

"Care for a drink?"

Danny nearly jumped at the voice as a champagne glass was held before his face. "What is it?" His brow knitted as he turned his gaze up to the other ghost.

"Cider.

Danny gave him a disbelieving look after glancing briefly at the green liquid within the glass. "Cider isn't usually green."

"It's cider made from apples grown on trees within the Ghost Zone." Red eyes rolled at the doubtful expression on the young half ghost's face. "Despite what you believe, drinking this isn't going to turn you into some ectoplasm addicted fiend. If ectoplasm had that affect on you, you would already be like that after cycling some of the ectoplasm within the Ghost Zone simply by visiting it."

"Oh." Danny's cheeks flushed a light green as he accepted the glass. Tentatively, he sipped at the green liquid and glanced at the other ghost. There was definitely a hint of cider to the ectoplasm, but the aftertaste almost made Danny choke. How did the other ghosts stand drinking anything made of ectoplasm? But maybe it tasted better to those that were full ghost. "I didn't think you were going to show up."

"You seemed to want to talk, so I came."

A flustered feeling came over him, and suddenly Danny wasn't even sure what he wanted to say to the ghost anymore. "W-Well," he licked at his lips, his insides dancing like a swarm of butterflies were trying to find their way out, "you should know why then. Since," he set aside the champagne glass as he met with those bright red eyes, "you know all of time."

"That may be true." Clockwork leaned against the railing, situating himself rather close to the young half ghost. A smile pulled at one corner of his mouth, and Danny felt warmth spreading through him as the Time Master very nearly brushed against him. "But I find it's better to let others speak their mind to me. Apparently the whole omnipotent thing comes off as irritating to others."

Danny shifted awkwardly as his green eyes drifted all around, everywhere except for at Clockwork. He thought it would probably be a whole lot easier for him if Clockwork did the omnipotent thing instead of making him work up the nerve to say something. Finally, he turned his gaze back onto the Time Master, who stared at him with an expectant look in his eyes. He moved before his mind really caught up to what his body was doing. His hand brushed over Clockwork's cheek, sliding back to thread through short white locks as he pressed their mouths together. Clockwork's arm snaked around his waist, tugging the young half ghost closer and into his lap.

"Hm, definitely better when I let you act on your own," Clockwork murmured against Danny's lips when they parted for a moment.

Danny flushed brightly. "But you already knew what would happen."

"I know the possibilities, but it was always up to you which one became reality." Clockwork smirk, brushing back snow white hair before he leaned in to kiss Danny a second time.


	13. Peppermint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Dora meets with the king of a neighboring kingdom to discuss a betrothal.  
> Characters: Fright Knight x Dora

She stared at the man before her, the dark armor he wore making her feel a bit apprehensive about this entire meeting. Her gaze drifted to the other man, the one in royal garb as he sat upon the throne, one leg crossing over the other with ankle resting on knee as he leaned his chin on one hand.

"You do not approve?" he questioned, eyebrows lifting with an expectant look in his blue eyes.

She shook her head, the rope of her blonde hair swishing behind her. "I was thinking nothing of the sort." Her eyes flicked back to the armored man, his face hidden by the helmet he wore.

"Sir Dorn, better known to the realm as the Fright Knight after his many slayings of dragons," the king hardly noticed the way Dora paled or swallowed nervously at the mention of dragons, "is a great swordsman and protector of my kingdom. He will be a great husband to you, should you accept the betrothal."

"I confess I am a bit surprised that you would choose such an important member of your army to be my betrothed," Dora said as her gaze turned to the king again. "Do you really mean to give him up? He would probably do better to stay and serve your kingdom?"

"That is true. He has done quite well protecting my kingdom." He stood up, long cape trailing behind him. "But I came to the decision that this betrothal is of benefit to both our kingdoms. It is my hope that this union will help ally our kingdoms and bring peace to our two realms." His blue eyes flicked between the knight and the princess. "Well, I shall leave the two of you to become better acquainted. There is still much to do before the Christmas feast tonight." He bowed his head to Dora, who dipped low in a curtsy as he strode past her. The door of the throne room echoed loudly in the silence after it closed behind the king, leaving the other two alone in the wide, spacious room with a tall arching ceiling.

Dora stared at the door for several long minutes before tearing her gaze away to glance back toward the knight. She bit the inside of her cheek with nervousness thrumming through her entire being. At times like this, she wished her mother was there to guide her. Her mind turned back to the many hours studying etiquette. Many might think that training in etiquette for a princess meant simply sitting around with her back perfect straight and looking pretty. Etiquette training was far tougher than that. She had to learn how to behave in various different cultures. Where in one kingdom certain gestures and sayings might be accepted, in another kingdom it might be the small thing that set a war into motion. She had to learn the names of various important figures within each kingdoms and what their titles were. She needed to know which way to bow to them. Some only required a small tilt of her head while others needed her to perform a full curtsy. And all that information was only a small portion of the training she did. She had to learn tactical strategy and military procedures and educate herself on diplomatic issues, as well as familiarize herself with domestic affairs. It was all so much to remember that her head sometimes felt like it might explode.

"It is my pleasure to meet you, Sir Dorn," Dora said, deciding to go with a partial bow. She tilted her head, lifted up one side of her dress, and bent her knees slightly. When she glanced up at the knight again, she frowned at him. "You have no need to hide your face from me."

Sir Dorn reached up and pulled the helmet from his head. For a brief moment, a split second of hesitation, he held it in front of his face before lowering it and tucking the helmet under one arm. His gaze remained lower as he stood stiffly before her. His hair was dark and closely cut to his head. His skin, pale, marred with old scars, one of which cut through the right side of his mouth. At one point, he was probably considered quite handsome, but the battle wounds likely scared away many people. It was his eyes that Dora focused on though. They showed kindness under the hard gleam of a seasoned warrior. Dora stepped toward him and reached up, tentatively touching a hand to his face. Her fingers lightly traced over a scar on his cheek as she stared into his eyes.

Her mother always claimed that the eyes were like windows into the soul, and for some dragons, they could even read into them simply by gazing into a person's eyes. It was a rare talent for their kind, but Dora sometimes thought she could get glimpses when she tried. When she stared into the knight's eyes, she could see he fought many hard battles in his time. She gave a small gasp as she backed up a step.

"Is there something wrong, my lady?" the knight questioned, concern furrowing in his brow.

"I - What's that smell?" Dora blinked, catching a hint of something sweet in the air between them that distracted her.

The knight stared, confusion in his eyes. "Oh." He reached behind him, and when he held out his hand between them, his fingers uncurled to show her three little round balls of white with red stripes sitting within his palm. "They're peppermints from a shop in town. Would you like one?"

"Thank you." Dora bowed her head to him as she accepted one of the peppermint treats. She smiled as she popped the candy into her mouth. Perhaps this betrothal wouldn't be as bad she thought, recalling what she saw when she looked into his eyes. He had fought a dragon not too long ago. It was one of her kind and reverted back into a young girl after being badly injured by the knight. Instead of killing her, the knight laid down his sword and treated her injuries. He wasn't a cold hearted killer who couldn't distinguish whether those cursed with dragon blood were good or evil. He saw a frightened, injured young woman and did what he could to help her. Yes, Dora thought as she enjoyed the peppermint candy, the betrothal to this knight was something she could accept.


	14. Gingerbread

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Jazz has worked really hard on a special surprise.  
> Characters: Clockwork x Jazz

"And," she said, drawing out the word, "done!"

Clockwork tore his gaze away from the small viewing portal opened by his staff to glance at the young woman seated on the floor in front of the coffee table in the small living area of her apartment. A smile tugged at his mouth when he saw that happy gleam in her aqua colored eyes that she always got when she had a sense of accomplishment upon finishing something. After closing the viewing portal, Clockwork set his feet on the ground then crouched down beside her for a closer view of her work.

She had crafted a little world of gingerbread houses, though he used that term loosely as many of them weren't really the traditional house as one might expect. Skulker's lair used very little gingerbread from Clockwork could tell, his island covered in a jungle of candy structures. Ember had a little music store lair, and the Lunch Lady had her cafeteria that had merged recently with the Box Ghost's warehouse. She even had Pariah's Keep to give to the Fright Knight, and Vlad's castle in Wisconsin. Walker's prison had little candy ghosts fleeing from it.

Fenton Works looked virtually like a little miniature of the real thing. Not too many years ago, a mirror version of Fenton Works began to develop around the Fenton Portal, creating a real lair for the young half ghost. After that, ghosts stopped sneaking through the Portal, respecting the unspoken rule of the Ghost Zone of not intruding unwelcomed on another ghost's lair. Not every ghost stuck to that rule, but most knew better than to mess with Daniel's lair. His kind nature, however, did draw some of the small blob looking ghosts to treat his lair as a sort of sanctuary where they could reside without harassment.

Clockwork turned his gaze to the last of the gingerbread houses. It was his own tower with a carefully crafted clock and little figures holding scythes. It was quite well done, and he was very impressed with the work she had done on all of the ghostly lairs. "Someone's been quite busy," he said, turning his gaze to the woman sitting beside him.

"I may have gone a little overboard," Jazz admitted with a flush upon her cheeks. "But it's the first time I'll be joining you at the Christmas Truce party, and I," she shrugged, her eyes flicking toward him, "just wanted to do something for all the ghosts. I would have done more, but work and everything kept me busy."

Clockwork reached over to brush back a lock of her auburn hair as a smile drew across his face. "I'm sure they'll love them." Actually, he already knew how the ghosts would react when they saw her gingerbread creations. One of the perks of being omnipotent, but he would allow the woman to find out their reactions for herself.

"What?" Jazz questioned, blushing a touch darker when she caught Clockwork grinning at her.

"Just thinking about how most people don't get to see this side of you," he admitted, leaning over to kiss one rosy red cheek. "This creative side of you that's able to construct such perfect little miniatures out of candy. They only see the whole smart, analytical side of you. The kind and caring side that pushes you to help people. Only a handful know about the strong grace you inherited from your mother, along with her skill to fight. But you usually only show this side," his red eyes darted toward the gingerbread houses, "to your family and to me."

Jazz bowed her head for a moment before she turned and barely brushed her lips against his. "I only share it with people who are important to me," she admitted quietly. Then she pressed her mouth firmly to Clockwork's, who enjoyed the feel of her warm lips moving against his own. When they parted, her aqua colored eyes met his gaze. "I'm glad I was able to meet you. Though, I guess you already know that so I don't really need to say it."

"But I love hearing you say it." Clockwork kissed her lightly on the forehead. "I'll be forever grateful that time allowed us to have this relationship. I love you." He took her hand, lacing their fingers together. On their ring fingers were gold bands with script engraved in an old language no longer remembered to any but Clockwork himself: _a love as eternal as time itself_. It was a bit sappy, but he guess he was just a romantic in the end.

"I love you too." Jazz smiled fondly as she leaned against him.


	15. Presents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: The night is winding down, but one final ghost as a present to give her.  
> Characters: Skulker x Ember

Ember frowned as she swiped a dollop of whipped white cream from the silvery blue mug she held with her index finger. The Christmas Truce party was almost over, and many of the ghosts had already started to leave. She stuck her finger into her mouth and sucked off the sweet whipped cream as she watched the remaining ghosts exchange gifts before departing. The boredom of the evening settled in as the festivities dwindled. She was a rocker. She enjoyed a party. But when the end started coming around, the evening turned dull for her.

She already gave out the presents she brought with her. To the dipstick, she gave him a guitar, since he once mentioned an interest in learning to play when they spoke, and in return, Danny gave her a set of guitar picks made of different types of material. She gave Kitty a pair of earrings and Desiree some silken scarves. The Lunch Lady got a new apron and the Box Ghost got a pair of gloves. To Kempler, she gave a teddy bear then had a hard time getting the ghost to leave her alone as he kept wanting to hug her to a second death.

Ember drained what remained of the hot chocolate in her mug then left it on one of the tables around the room. If there was nothing left to do at the party, it was probably time for her to head off, like many of the other ghosts. When she glanced around as she headed toward the exit of the feast hall, she spotted Kitty and Johnny cozying up to each other in one corner. Desiree was chatting with Technus. The Lunch Lady and the Box Ghost were packing up the leftovers. Danny had slipped off at some point.

She almost made it to the exit when another ghost stepped up to block her path. With a tired sigh, she lifted her head and frowned at the hunter. "What is it, Skulker?" She folded her arms as she shifted her weight to one foot. "I'm exhausted, and I just want to get back to my own lair and relax now."

"I didn't give you your gift yet," Skulker pointed out, seeming awkward about bringing it up.

Ember frowned, narrowing her green eyes as she looked over his stupid metal suit. "Yeah, and?" She had given him his gift much earlier in the evening. A rocket launcher that he said he was eager to test out, except that he wasn't allowed to while the Truce remained in effect. The hunter, however, didn't give her anything in return. Okay. Maybe that was in part why she felt so bitter at the moment. What kind of boyfriend forgot to get his girlfriend a Christmas present?

"And now I want to give you your present." Skulker reached behind him, and Ember eyed him with some skepticism.

"You didn't get me something stupid, did you?" she demanded. "Because I swear if you got me some lame weapon or the pelt of some poor ghost, I will beat the crap out of you with it."

Skulker frowned as he brought his hand around. "No," he grumbled with a glance away from her. "It's nothing like that." He held out a small gift wrapped in silver paper with a bright green ribbon slapped on the top.

Ember took the gift, worried about the size. Not many things would fit in a box that small. She tore off the wrapping paper with little preamble. The velvety box gave her pause for a brief moment before she popped open the lid. What lay nestled inside made her freeze. If she needed to breathe, her breath would have caught in her throat. If she had a heart, it would probably have stopped beating in her chest. She plucked the small gold band from the box. It held a diamond set into it, and though it was small, it still made Ember gasp as she lifted her gaze back to the hunter.

"Well, you know," Skulker mumbled as he rubbed at the back of his neck. "Do I have to get down on one knee? I wanted to wait until there weren't so many people around so that you wouldn't be put on the spot and all that."

"Are you actually asking?" Ember's mouth thinned. "Because you have to actually say the words."

A blush managed to reach through the metal of his suit as he looked away. The words, assuming he was actually trying to say them, seemed to catch in his throat like a giant wad that refused to come out. Then his eyes turned back to her, and she held his gaze as she waited expectantly. "Will you marry me, Ember?"

A smirk broke across her face as she snapped the box shut with one hand. "And I thought you'd never ask." After slipping the ring onto her finger, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "And just in case that didn't get through your thick skull, that was a yes."


	16. Fireplace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: They share a quiet moment by the fireplace.  
> Characters: Tucker x Valerie

"Finally," Tucker said with a sigh when he reached the bottom of the stairs. He stretched his arms over his head as he walked into the front room of the house. The Christmas tree stood in one corner of the room, all decorated with ornaments and lights, which were currently turned off, and presents of all shapes and sizes wrapped in paper with different patterns and some with bows and ribbons all laid out at the base of the tree. "The kids are finally asleep."

"Oh, good," Valerie said as she finished getting the fire going in the fireplace. "Why do I feel like they get even more troublesome each Christmas?"

"Oh no, it's not just you," Tucker assured her as he joined her on the floor in front of the fireplace. "They didn't want to fall asleep at all. They said they wanted to stay up and try to catch Santa coming down the chimney."

Valerie eyed him with a frown as she picked up one of the snowflake shaped sugar cookies on the plate on the coffee table next to them. "Are you sure they actually fell asleep? You know you have to check on them." She split the cookie in half. "They just pretend to sleep sometimes. Then I'll hear them talking and giggling later when I go up." She popped one half the cookie into her mouth as her green eyes narrowed at the man beside her.

"Of course I made certain they were asleep." Tucker looked away as he took one of the cookies that was shaped like a tree with green sprinkles. "Let's just enjoy the rest of our night." He leaned back on one arm as he bit into the cookie, chomping off the top of the tree. "Did you put out all the presents we got?"

Valerie rolled her eyes. "I had them all out ages ago. You took forever getting the kids to bed." She picked up the glass of milk and poured half of it into a second glass that she brought in for Tucker to have.

"I guess I just don't have your touch." Tucker took the glass offered to him and sipped at the milk.

As a child, and even as a teenager, Christmas morning was a day he looked forward to months before December even came. He got excited at the prospect of waking up and running down the stairs to see all the presents under the tree, eager to tear off the wrapping paper to see what he got. But now, as an adult, he liked this moment. The eve of Christmas once the children were in bed and he had a quiet moment to share with his wife as they sat before the lit fireplace while they ate the cookies their children baked and drank some milk. It was a nice, peaceful moment.

"Well, and they aren't terrified of me. Ow!" Tucker rubbed at his arm where Valerie punched him.

"They aren't terrified of me," Valerie said, her mouth thinning with unhappy pain in her eyes.

"I didn't mean it as a bad thing," Tucker amended quickly. "It keeps them in line, knowing that you won't take any misbehaving. Some kids run all over their parents because they know their parents are never going to punish them if they get way out of line. But our kids know better. One glare from you, and they immediately stop whatever they were doing that was wrong. And you know how things go when I try to discipline them."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "That's because you're too much of a softy. You're the one they go to when they want upgrades to their tech or for money or to play video games with." She frowned as she gazed at the fire.

"And they go to you when they want to learn to defend themselves and for help on their homework." Tucker touched a hand to her cheek, drawing her attention back to him. "They really don't see you as some scary monster. I promise. They love you as much as you love them." He leaned over to give her a kiss when they heard the creak of the stairs.

"Told you they were just pretending." Valerie flicked him on the forehead before she climbed to her feet. "All right," she said loudly, and Tucker was sure he heard gasps from the front hall. "I think there are some little munchkins that need to be put to bed again." The two children gave shrieks as they darted back up the stairs. "I guess from now on I'll be the one putting them to bed on Christmas Eve." Valerie bent down to kiss Tucker quickly on the forehead. Then she left the front room and headed up the stairs.

Tucker picked up another of the cookies as he relaxed by the fireside. Yeah. This was a nice moment. When the children didn't wake up to ruin it.


	17. Stockings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: While getting ready for the holidays, some embarrassing decorations get revealed.  
> Characters: Danny, Tucker, and Sam

"What the heck is that?" Tucker asked as he watched his friend pulling out decorations from a box.

Danny glanced at him then at the item he held in his hand. "Oh, uh," he mumbled with a mortified expression that clearly read he wished he could erase this moment from happening. "It's my stocking." He winced as his blue eyes darted to the fireplace, though Tucker suspected his friend was looking more toward the actual fire and probably considering throwing the stocking into it.

"That has to be the ugliest stocking that has ever been made," Tucker said, struggling not to laugh.

"Oh my-" Sam exclaimed when she entered the living room. "What _is_ that?"

"That's it," Danny grumbled, balling up the knitted stocking. "It's going-"

"Ho, ho, ho!"

Danny flushed as his father's voice boomed through the room from the stocking. He forgot all about the sound box stitched into the toe of the stocking. How the battery hadn't died in all the years that he had the stocking was a mystery. His father probably invented some everlasting battery or something. Maybe he utilized the technology in the ecto-converter so that the battery would never die.

His face grew several shades darker as his friends started laughing. "You know," Danny said, trying to push past the humiliation he felt over the stocking that his father knitted for him when he was seven, "it's not like your mother never gave you anything this ugly."

Sam immediately sobered up as she frowned at Danny. "At least I destroyed that pink and frilly atrocity years ago. Why did you ever keep that _thing_?" She pointed at the stocking still in Danny's hand as her nose wrinkled.

Danny sighed as he tossed the stocking back into his box, ignoring his father's voice as it shouted out "Merry Christmas" to the room. "Because when my family visits on Christmas, my father always expects me to have the stocking out. You should have seen the look on his face when he came by that first year I was living in my apartment. He was disappointed that I didn't have it out, not that I really spent much time decorating my apartment that year. So I just kept it and put it out whenever my parents were going to stop by." He frowned at his friends as they pulled out some of the decorations from the other boxes to put up around the living room. "Are you seriously going to tell me that neither of you have any embarrassing decorations that your parents are going to expect to see when they come here for Christmas eve dinner?"

Tucker and Sam exchanged glances before looking into their own boxes. "Well," Tucker said, cringing as he pulled out an ornament. Sam and Danny both moved closer to look at what their friend held up. It was a small circular ornament that looked hand painted around the rim with a photograph on both sides. Danny bit his lip to keep from laughing at the image of a toddler Tucker in his diapers among a pile of pots and pans on one side, and on the other side was toddler Tucker reaching up to climb onto a chair with his diaper halfway falling off. "My mom expects it front and center on the Christmas tree."

"I am so glad I don't have to worry about hideous Christmas decorations," Sam said as she reached into her own box. "I just have this," she held up a golden menorah, "and a bunch of lights and some tinsel."

"Yeah, but your parents will probably be upset if we have nothing to celebrate their religion up too," Danny said as he took the menorah from her. He walked over to the fireplace and made room for the menorah right on the center of the mantle. "Your parents already don't like me that much. I don't want them getting angry and thinking that I'm trying to convert you or downplay your religion."

"I'd say you just need to try harder to get on their good side, but they're pretty determined to not like you." Sam sighed tiredly as she helped Tucker put up some more ornaments on the tree. "Well, they can disapprove all they like. It's not going to stop me from being friends with you."

Danny walked over and drew his friends into a tight hug. "We're going to make this the best Christmas ever, right?" He grinned at his friends who rolled their eyes and shook their heads at him before they all got back to work on decorating the house for their first ever Christmas there.


	18. Cookies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Danny checks in to see what the women are up to.  
> Characters: Danny, Jazz, Danielle, and Sam

Danny walked into the kitchen to grab a glass of milk. Of course, that was merely an excuse for why he needed to go into the kitchen. For the past twenty minutes, he could hear giggling from the kitchen while he sat in the front room, trying to finish up some of his homework so that the rest of his winter break would be free and he could do nothing but relax the whole time. His curiosity got the better of him, and he had to see what exactly was making the occupants of the kitchen laugh so much.

A puff of white exploded before him the second he entered. He jerked back, and after a moment, he dared to open his eyes as laughter filled the kitchen again. He gaped at the mess splattered all around the room. Flour coating practically every surface, including him and the three women. Egg shells were on the floor, and something goopy looking dripped from the counter.

"Uh," Danny said as he turned his gaze onto the three women at the counter, "what exactly have you been doing in here?"

"Well," Jazz said with a laugh, "Danielle decided to make cookies."

"And when I saw them, I decided to help out," Sam said with some of the batter clinging to her ebony locks.

Danielle scratched at a flour covered cheek. "Most of the mess is my fault," she admitted with some embarrassment.

"Well, but we certainly didn't help," Jazz added as she scooped out some of the batter to plop onto a cookie sheet.

"And you're going to clean up this mess before Mom and Dad come home?" Danny lifted an eyebrow at the three women as he turned briefly intangible to rid himself of the flour coating. He was definitely thankful for his powers in moments like that. It made cleaning up after getting a mess on him much easier.

The three women exchanged glances then turned back to Danny, who frowned at them.

"You'll help us, right?" Danielle asked, trying to look innocent in her pleads. "With your ghost powers and mine, we'll have this place cleaned up in seconds."

Danny glanced at his sister and his friend then sighed. "I suppose I can help. But I get to lick one of the spatulas." He grabbed it from the bowl before any other women could stop him and took a big swipe of the batter on it with his tongue. He grinned at the sweet taste. "What brought on this whole sudden interest in baking?"

"Because it's Christmas," Danielle said with a roll of her eyes.

"The Grinch probably needs a better explanation than that," Sam whispered, and the three of them chuckled.

"Hey!" Danny protested. "I'm not a Grinch anymore."

"Danny, the usual tradition is to put out a plate of cookies and a glass of milk for Santa," Jazz explained as the three women worked on adding dollops of batter to the cookie sheet.

"Yeah, but San-" Danny stopped himself as he glanced at Danielle. She was old enough to have stopped believing in Santa Claus, but Danny doubted Vlad spent much of his time telling Danielle about Christmas traditions or destroying her belief in things like Santa Claus. He didn't want to prove himself a Grinch by telling her that Santa wasn't real. "Wait. But you're Jewish," he said, turning to Sam.

"So?" Sam's brow wrinkled as she glanced his way. "That somehow bans me from being allowed to bake cookies? Just because I don't celebrate Christmas doesn't mean I can't offer to help out."

"Sorry." Danny bowed his head, feeling guilty.

"And I know Santa's not real," Danielle said, patting Danny on the shoulder. "But why should that stop us from having fun baking cookies and pretending? Isn't that all part of the magic of the Christmas season?"

Danny glanced at the mess then at the trays of cookies. "Think we can make another batch before Mom and Dad get home?"

Danielle grinned. "That's the spirit, cousin."


	19. Santa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Clockwork has a special surprise to show Danny.  
> Characters: Clockwork x Danny x Ghost Writer

"What... exactly am I looking at?" Danny's brow wrinkled as he tore his gaze away from the viewing portal to stare at the Time Master that floated behind him.

"What does it look like to you?" Clockwork questioned with that annoying know-it-all smile that Danny sometimes really hated. And since he knew all of time, Clockwork knew that fact but still wore the smirk anyway, which only annoyed Danny even more.

"Well," Danny frowned as he glanced back at the viewing portal, "Antarctica?" All that he could really see in the portal was white as snow fell in swirls. If he squinted really hard, he thought he might be able to some red in the distance, but it was hard to tell with the snow.

Clockwork chuckled, and he pressed his chest against the half ghost's back as he reached around to wave his hand before the portal. A burning blush crept onto Danny's cheeks, and he unconsciously leaned back into the Time Master, who placed a hand upon his hip. Distracted by his touch, Danny didn't pay attention to what Clockwork did with the viewing portal.

"And what do you think it is now?" Clockwork asked with his lips brushing over the half ghost's ear and sending shivers down his spine.

Danny pulled his mind away from thinking about Clockwork's body and his lips so that he could focus on the portal. "Um," he blinked then his eyes widened as he moved away from Clockwork to gape at the viewing portal, "that isn't." He spun around to stare at Clockwork. "Is it?"

"Yes," Clockwork answered with an amused smile. "That would be Santa Claus' workshop. Though it's not located in the North Pole like many human's believe."

"Wait! Are you saying-" Danny twisted back to the viewing portal and examined every inch of it. When he scanned the skyline, he caught glimpses of green sky. "Is that in the Ghost Zone?"

"Of course it is," the Ghost Writer said, rolling his eyes at the young half ghost. "Did you really think Santa wasn't a ghost? How else do you explain how he gets around the world in a single night to deliver presents?"

"Why does he sound so bitter?" Danny questioned, frowning at the writer, who was furiously typing away at his keyboard. The Ghost Writer always turned into a writing maniac when the Christmas season started. It took a lot of coaxing just to get him out of his library where he usually locked himself up until after Christmas passed.

"Because he's still on the naughty list," Clockwork explained, ignoring the glare that the Ghost Writer shot toward him.

Danny stared before it clicked in his head. "Is _that_ why he's so obsessed with writing a Christmas story?"

Clockwork chuckled. "He thinks if he writes a great story for Christmas, then Santa will finally put him back on the nice list."

"You promised you wouldn't tell anyone," the Ghost Writer grumbled as his cheeks turned pink.

Danny floated over and wrapped his arm around the writer's neck from behind. "If it makes you feel any better, you're on my nice list."

"That was pretty corny," the Ghost Writer grumbled, but a small smile ghosted across his face.


	20. Sled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Sam is bored to death while stuck at home.  
> Characters: Kwan x Sam

Sam sighed as she dropped her chin into her hand and stared at the white covering the street. Since it snowed heavily last night, school was announced as closed for the day. She would usually be excited by this fact, getting to spend the day hanging out with her friends and playing in the snow. Danny and Tucker were probably off somewhere building a snow fort to have a snowball fight with everyone else.

And she would so murder them all in a snowball fight! She had really good aim, after all.

But she was stuck at home with an injured ankle from going ice skating on the weekend. It was an accident while she was joking around with her friends, but the fall had twisted her ankle badly enough to require that she not walk on it very much for a while. Thankfully, it wasn't broken. Her parents brought in a whole medical team to check on it, even though it really wasn't bad enough for that to be necessary. But now she was unable to enjoy the day off because she wasn't supposed to walk around, and she was certain playing in the snow counted as something she wasn't supposed to do until her ankle healed. She halfway wished that she hadn't insisted that her friends go off and have fun without her when they came by early that morning. It wasn't fair to force them to give up a day of fun just because she injured her ankle.

But she was just so dreadfully bored!

"Hey!"

Upon hearing someone call out, she lifted her head then blinked when she saw the jock coming up to her house. He was decked out in a puffy but warm looking winter coat with a scarf wrapped around his neck and earmuffs over his ears. Sam glanced around, trying to figure out what the jock was doing at her house but coming up with no answers. She didn't see any of the other A lists around, but that didn't mean this wasn't some trap to humiliate her. As she would expect from Paulina.

"I bumped into Danny and Tucker a little while ago," he explained, his cheeks looking rosy under his plaid scarf.

Sam's brow knitted as she frowned up at the jock standing before her. "And?" she asked, not able to grasp his reason for being there. "You thought you'd come over here and mock the injured loser?"

"What?" Kwan gasped at her. "No! That's not why I'm here at all!" He stepped aside to reveal the sled that he had dragged behind him. A toboggan, to be exact, made of sleek wood. His aqua green eyes turned away when Sam stared at him with a look of confusion on her face. "Well, I thought," he scratched awkwardly at the back of his head, "if you're not supposed to walk anywhere, maybe I could help you out by dragging you around on this."

"What?" Sam asked numbly, too surprised by his suggestion to think of it as some evil scheme crafted by the A list.

"I figured it's got to be pretty boring sitting around unable to go anywhere, so maybe I could help you out there. There's a hot chocolate stand set up in the park. It's really good, and I think you could probably even get it made with soy milk instead of regular milk." Kwan shifted his weight, reminding Sam too much of whenever Danny tried to talk to a girl he liked. "Of course, you don't have to. I just thought this would be something nice to do."

Sam stared, unable to even think of a response. Did - Was Kwan offering this because he _liked_ her? That would explain the absence of his usual buddy Dash. Kwan liked her? It didn't make any sense to her. She had never been all that nice to him, mostly in response to the fact that he was friends with Dash and Paulina, both of whom liked to harass her and her friends.

"Okay," Sam said, struggling to stand up without putting weight on her foot. Kwan immediately moved to help her, supporting her. She glanced up at him then away as she felt warmth creeping onto her cheeks as he helped her onto the sled. She still wasn't entirely sure what to think of this new development, but at least she would have a way to spend the day away from the house now.


	21. Snowman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Danny tries to escape some of the usual holiday cheer going on through his place of work.  
> Characters: Danny and Dash

Danny pushed open the door leading out onto the roof and pulled his coat tighter around him as the blast of chilly air hit him, though the cold didn't bother him much. All part of being a half ghost, he supposed. He simply felt the need for some fresh air after being stuck indoors all day with the festive merriment going on throughout the building as they neared their holiday break. He had gotten over his whole anger toward the Christmas season years ago, but he still hit funks where everyone being cheery and merry with the holiday spirit became overwhelming to him and he needed to distance himself from it for a while.

Danny sighed as he crunched through the snow on the rooftop. Thoughts from long ago about a different future sneaking into the forefront of his mind yet again. He tried not to think about what happened then, but around Christmas, the memories refused to be ignored. He knew Clockwork only showed him that future where he turned evil as a warning, and since then, Danny did his best not to stray down a path that might lead to him becoming Dan.

He paused before he reached the edge of the rooftop and blinked several times when he saw the other man already standing there. He hesitated, tossing a glance back toward the door leading back inside where everyone would still be in a festive mood, which he was trying to avoid for the moment. Then he walked over and leaned on the stone wall with enough space between them so that it wouldn't be awkward.

"Did you come out here to get away from all the celebrating going on?" Danny asked, casting a brief look toward the man to his side.

"Something like that," Dash mumbled, not even taking his gaze away from what he was working on. He gathered some snow into his hands, shaping it into a ball.

Danny frowned as he noticed another ball of snow already sitting upon the stone wall. "Planning on throwing some snowballs at people as they leave or something?"

Dash snorted then tore his gaze away from his work. "You really think I'm still that immature?"

Danny shrugged. "I'd probably do it. But mostly at Gellerman. That guy is pretty irritating."

Dash laughed. "Yeah, that guy annoys pretty much everyone." He placed the snowball on top of the other.

Until he saw them stacked like that, Danny didn't realize the second one was somewhat smaller than the first one. "A snowman?" he asked, watching as Dash gathered up some more of the snow covering the top of the stone wall to start shaping a third snowball.

Dash kept his focus on his work, but his cheeks turned a few shades darker. "I know it's silly, but my brother and I would always make this giant snowman out front at our parents' house. Even when he was off at college, he came back during Christmas break and we'd make one when it snowed. But," he shrugged his broad shoulders as he placed the head of the snowman onto its body, "he's not going to make it home this year. It feels a bit weird. It's a family tradition with us, and now it feels like those traditions are disappearing. My parents were even saying they were thinking of going on a cruise for Christmas this year. It's going to be pretty lonely this year."

"I thought you were dating that one girl. What was her name? Erin?"

Dash shook his head. "We broke up last week. She decided we should 'see other people,' which I'm guessing means she already was."

"Sorry about that. That really sucks." Danny frowned as he leaned on the stone wall. He and Dash had never really gotten along in high school, and they butted heads often during work. He glanced over at Dash then to the snowman at which the former jock kept staring. "Well, my family usually has this big dinner on Christmas eve. If," he shrugged as he turned his gaze away with an awkward feeling, "you want to join us."

"I might be lonely this year, but I don't know that I'll be _that_ lonely." Dash was silent for several moments before adding, "But thanks, Fenton," which brought a small smile to Danny's face.


	22. Sleigh Bell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Even a small and simple item can hold important memories for someone.  
> Characters: Danny x Star

"I think this is the last box," Danny said as he set the box that he brought in from the garage on the coffee table in the front room. "What exactly are you looking for?" After he stood up straight, he stretched out his back. He had carried in nearly every box in their garage, even the ones not marked for Christmas decorations for his wife to search through.

"It's just... this thing," Star mumbled as she dug around in the box, sifting through everything. "Aha!" She stood up straight with a bright smile on her face. In her hand, she held a small velvety box that reminded Danny too much of the one her engagement ring came in.

"What exactly is it?" Danny's brow furrowed as he walked around the table to get a look at what was in the box.

Opening the box, Star flushed lightly as she showed off the small silver bell inside it. "It's a sleigh bell." She glanced at her husband before turning her gaze back to the bell. "When I was seven, my dad had to go away for a business trip during Christmas, and I was really upset about it because we always spent Christmas together as a family. But he gave me this, saying that it came from Santa Claus himself, and it was magic so if I rang it while thinking of him, my thoughts would reach him." She laughed, shaking her head. "When he came home, he said he still had ringing in his ears because I shook the bell so much while he was gone. At that time, I totally believed in stuff like that, so I thought the bell really was magic, but I realized when I was older that my mom had told him about all the bell ringing I did while he was gone." She smiled fondly at the bell. "So every year, I like to put it out. You know, like to remember my father and all that."

"I think that's sweet," Danny said, wrapping his arms around her from behind as he rested his chin on her shoulder. Her father had died the year before around Thanksgiving, and that was a hard time on her. Danny did his best to be there for her, but sometimes, only time helped to heal the pain. He understood now why she was so desperate to find the bell if it held such an important memory to her.

"And I was thinking, maybe one day, we could pass it onto our child. Like an heirloom, even though it's just a simple bell. It's the memories that make it special."

Danny turned his head and placed a kiss to her cheek. "You're going to be a great mother."

"I hope so." Star closed the box before she twisted around in his arms. "Maybe," she smiled as she pressed her forehead to his, "we could start trying."

"Oh?" Danny's eyebrows lifted up in surprise. "I thought you wanted to wait a few years after marriage before trying for children."

"Hm, I may have changed my mind." Star kissed him, her arms wrapping around his neck, and Danny was more than happy to return the kiss.


	23. Carols

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: When she calls him up, Ember is pleasantly surprised.  
> Characters: Ghost Writer and Ember

"Well, that was," Ember winced slightly but tried her best to cover it up as she smiled, "an interesting rendition of Silent Night." Frostbite nearly lifted her from the ground as he gave her a big hug before he stumbled off the stage to rejoin the rest of the ghosts enjoying the festive party for their annual Christmas Truce. "So," Ember clapped her hands as she glanced around at the crowd, "who's next?"

"Oh, oh!" Kempler waved his hand wildly, and Ember resisted a groan. The last time Kempler took the stage, she didn't escape his clinging hug, which meant she was forced to sing with him. She wasn't going to let that happen again.

"You already sang tonight. How about someone that hasn't sung yet?" Ember winced at the disappointed pout that fell upon Kempler's face. "Anyone?" she asked again hopefully when no one raised their hand. She frowned as her gaze swept around the crowd of ghosts then landed on one ghost in particular, hiding away in a corner of the room and apparently trying his best not to draw attention to himself. "Ghost Writer!" she called out loudly, and everyone's attention turned onto the bookish ghost, who jumped at the sound of his own name. "Get up here!" She waved a hand to encourage him. "You haven't sung yet tonight. It's your turn."

"Oh, I don't think so," the Ghost Writer protested, but it seemed some of the other ghosts were eager to hear him. They dragged him out of his hiding spot and pushed him along toward the stage until he stumbled up beside Ember. "This isn't a very good idea." He waved his hands before him as Ember held out a microphone for him to take.

"You don't have to be great," Ember said, forcing the microphone into his hand when he refused to take it from her. "Just have fun! That's what this whole party is about." She leaned closer to him and whispered into his ear. "Besides, you can't be worse than Technus." She hopped off the stage and waited anxiously with the rest of the ghosts to hear the Ghost Writer sing.

For a while, it didn't seem like the writer would as he stood there staring at the microphone like it was his first time ever seeing one. Then he lifted it close to his mouth, and the words spilled with ease from him.

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas," his voice was nice and deep, a rich velvety smoothness, "just like the ones I used to know."

Ember could only stare with her mouth hanging slightly open as the Ghost Writer sang through the song. She hadn't actually expected him to have such an amazing voice. A smirk drew across her face as he neared the end of the song. The other ghosts exploded into applause when he finished, causing the Ghost Writer's cheeks to glow with a soft blush as he dropped down from the stage.

"Well," Ember said, standing in his way, "someone's been hiding an amazing talent."

The Ghost Writer shook his head as he returned the microphone to her. "I was flat in some spots."

"Oh, if you think that's going to get you out of singing again, you are sadly mistaken." Ember was now determined to get the writer to sing as much as possible.


	24. Chestnuts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Vlad surprises Desiree with a request.  
> Characters: Vlad and Desiree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little Doctor Dash related story.

"That was the last appointment for the day," Desiree said, checking the schedule on the phone that she was given for work. She clicked a check mark next to the last item on the list for today with a certain sense of satisfaction that came with accomplishing a task.

"Was it?" Vlad questioned distractedly, his attention elsewhere as they walked along the street. "Good. Good." He nodded with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his heavy winter coat. Each exhale of warm breath came out in a puff of white that swirled lazily in the air before vanishing seconds later.

Desiree frowned as she shut off the phone and put it away in the pocket of her own coat. "You were pretty distracted in that meeting. Is everything all right?" She glanced his way with some concern in her eyes. Vlad was usually a very business orient person, focusing most of his time on his work and running multiple companies, even when he was tired. To see him distracted from his work was abnormal.

After a blink or two, Vlad turned his head to stare at her. "It's Christmas tomorrow," he announced as if the realization only just hit him.

Desiree nodded. Of course, she knew about Christmas. After all, she would be attending the Christmas Truce party once she was finished for the day. Glancing briefly at the dark sky, she guessed the day was done already as the stars twinkled in the narrow strip between the tall buildings of the downtown area. When she returned her gaze to him, her mouth pressed thin.

"I hope you're not expecting me to work on Christmas," Desiree said. "I'm more than happy to help you out, but even as a ghost, I like to have some days off and I prefer Christmas off."

Vlad shook his head. "I am no Scrooge. I won't force you to work on Christmas." He paused with a light chuckle as something caught his eyes. "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Isn't that a line in a Christmas carol?"

Desiree turned around to see what he meant. A small stand was set up with a man selling freshly roasted chestnuts in small brown paper sacks. "I've never tried those before," she admitted.

"Neither have I." Vlad strode over to the stand, and in a few moments, he returned with a bag for each of them. "About tomorrow," he said as they started walking again, each of them trying the roasted chestnuts, "Daniel's family gets together to celebrate Christmas, and they've invited me to join them this year."

"That should be fun." Desiree wasn't sure what else to say. But it was nice to see Vlad having a family to spend Christmas with rather than spending the day alone in his castle.

Vlad nodded. "I wanted to ask if you wished to come with me." He glanced at her then away again.

The chestnut she was about to eat slipped from her hand as she stopped. After a few steps, Vlad turned around to face her, lifting his eyebrows with an expectant look in his eyes. "Oh, um," Desiree mumbled, flustered by his request. "O-Okay."

The corner of Vlad's mouth curled upward. "Then I shall meet you bright and early tomorrow, and we'll head over to Fenton Works." He continued walking, and after a moment to get over her surprise, Desiree followed, hurrying to catch up and walk beside him. They travelled down the street in silence as they ate their roasted chestnuts.


	25. Christmas Movies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: After everything is ready for the big day, Clockwork still has one more task for a certain.  
> Characters: Clockwork x Dan

"Must I be subjected to this?" Dan grumbled, arms folded across his chest and a grumpy expression upon his face as he all but pouted at what the Time Masters was showing upon his viewing portal.

The Tower lacked its usual grimness with the eerie glow from the viewing portals. As per Clockwork's orders, Dan was forced to string up lights all about the viewing chamber. A large tree stood in one corner of the chamber with lots of blinking lights and shimmering tinsel and ornaments of all varieties. That he was _forced_ to decorate. Everything was prepared for tomorrow night when ghosts would show up to celebrate for the Christmas Truce. Clockwork being the unlucky host of the festivities for that year. And Clockwork decided to use Dan for all the decorating.

Now Dan only wanted to retire to his room and ignore the entirety of the Ghost Zone until the holiday passed. He had his reasons for hating the Christmas that didn't have anything to do with being peed on by a dog as a baby or attacked by the Christmas turkey for dinner. And of course, Clockwork knew all about his reasons for wanting to avoid everyone during the holiday. He scowled at the Time Master as he sat beside Dan on the couch that was brought into the viewing chamber with a blow of glowing popcorn in his lap.

"It's a holiday tradition to watch _It's a Wonderful Life_ ," Clockwork said, popping one of the puffs of popcorn into his mouth.

"You must have seen this a million times already then," Dan pointed out, already hating the movie even though it only just started. "And you already know how all of this turns out."

"I know many possible ways for things to turn out." Clockwork's red eyes glanced Dan's way. "But I also know that you often have similar thoughts as George does in this movie. If I didn't have ghost powers, maybe my family and friends never would have died in that accident. If I was never even born, maybe everything would have been better."

"And I suppose now you're going to tell me why I'm a fool for thinking such thoughts."

Clockwork turned over a piece of popcorn in his fingers, eying it was some consideration before tossing it into his open mouth. "Well, you can't ignore there's some truth to it," he said after a while. "If you didn't exist, if you didn't have your powers, Vlad could have succeeded multiple times in killing Jack. The result of that would have led to the deaths of Maddie and Jazz too in many possible futures without you being born."

Dan glared at the Time Master, but Clockwork was right about that. If he as Danny wasn't born and received his ghost powers, he wouldn't have been able to stand against Vlad the many times that he plotted against Jack to take Maddie. "You forget that I'm not only Danny's future but part of Vlad as well."

"Oh, I haven't forgotten." Clockwork wore that obnoxiously smug smirk on his face. "I never forget anything. If I didn't get struck by the Proto Portal in college, maybe I would have stood a chance at winning Maddie's heart. Or maybe I could have at least stayed friends with Jack and Maddie without any hatred and jealousy toward their relationship. Maybe if I had reached out to Daniel in another way, I could have overcome my own faults and been a better role model for him. If I never agreed to help him rid himself of the grief of losing everyone important to him, I wouldn't have turned our ghost halves into a violent monster."

Dan snorted, dragging his gaze away from Clockwork to glower at the viewing portal as the movie progressed without either of them really paying attention to it. "And you think somehow watching this movie and 'talking about things' will somehow make me turn over a new leaf and suddenly start being like my dorky younger half with his stupid hero complex? Because that's not going to happen."

"Of course not," Clockwork agreed, sounding a little too amused as he said it.


End file.
